Collection of thoughts about what I have seen and experienced in the areas of technology and international business.

Green Tech

Since the oil price hike of last year Green Tech has been trendy, but is the buzz fizzling out? With current per barrel pricing it is hard to justify the investment into developing a fairly young industry. Electric cars will slowly grow in numbers amongst trend setters, but what about solar technology to heat houses or heat pump technology? With a 15 year ROI I would not invest.

We talk idealistically about siding with the green alternative, but if it is 25% more expensive the ‘true human reaction’ is to postpone going green.

What if the government didn’t tax electric cars at all… tax free? What if you could write down an investment in solar panels 100% in your taxes? What if there was a tax credit for anyone that buys a heat pump? What if the government decided that there would be three operational fusion reactors by 2015 that would feed power into the national grid.

What is the government mandated a 40 MPG fuel rate for cars? What if there was a federal construction code that mandated certain green alternatives for all new buildings according to climate zones?

How would this impact established industry, tax revenue and cost of housing?